Temporary waiver tool

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, methods and computer program products for use in financial systems, where data communication is automated for purposes of providing temporary waivers. An exemplary apparatus is configured to receive a request from a requesting entity to assign an account a temporary waiver. The account may be associated with one or more services that require a payment for utilizing the service. The system may then send the request to a processing entity to analyzes the request for approval, and receive an approval decision based at least partially on the analysis of the request. In response to receiving the approval decision, the system may process at least one subsequent action for providing or declining a temporary waiver.

BACKGROUND

Traditionally, when identifying waiver request it is necessary tocontact specific business personnel such as Portfolio Management Teamthrough email as designed per the business procedures. The contactedpersonnel may then be responsible for either approving or denying therequest for the waiver. On approval, the business system may beinstructed to place the related account on waiver or alternativelyprompted to contact the requesting entity such as the Client Manager ininstances where a request has been rejected and the system has taken noaction aside from informing the requesting entity of the request denial.

Several challenges exist within the current waiver process. In oneaspect, once an account is placed on waiver, it can only be placed backinto a payment status in response to the requesting entity sending anadditional request for the account to be place back into a paymentstatus. As such, it is a necessity to rely on the requestor to send asecond request to place the account back into payment status when theduration of the waiver is over. Current systems and applications do notprocess the feasibility to automatically change the status of an accountfrom waiver to payment when the duration of the temporary waiver hasexpired.

Therefore, a need exist for a means to seamlessly track accounts thathave been placed on a temporary waiver and automate follow-up procedureswith the requesting entities when the duration of the waivers haveexpired.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, methods, andcomputer program products for use in financial systems, where datacommunication is automated for the purpose of providing temporarywaivers. An exemplary apparatus for automating data communication forpurposes of providing temporary waivers in a financial institution maycomprise a memory, a computing processor, and a module stored in thememory. The module may comprise instruction code executable by one ormore computing processors, and configured to cause the one or morecomputing processors to receive a request from a requesting entity toassign an account a temporary waiver, where the account is associatedwith one or more services that require a payment for utilizing theservice, and where the temporary waiver temporarily cancels servicepayments associated with utilizing the one or more services. The requestmay then be sent to a processing entity, where the processing entityanalyzes the request for approval. An approval decision is subsequentlyreceived based at least partially on the analysis of the request, and atleast one action is processed in response to receiving the approvaldecision that indicates whether or not the request was approved ordenied.

In some embodiments where the request comprises one or more items ofrequired information, the module is further configured to cause one ormore computing processors to review the request to verify that the oneor more items of required information have been provided, temporarilyreject the request in response to determining at least one item ofrequired information has not been provided, and prompt the requestingentity to provide the at least one items of required information priorto resubmitting the request to assign the account a temporary waiver.

In some embodiments, where the request comprises one or more item ofrequired information, the module is further configured to cause one ormore computing processors to review the request to verify that the oneor more items of required information are valid, temporarily reject therequest in response to determining at least one item of requiredinformation is not valid, and prompt the requesting entity to providevalid information for the at least one item of required informationprior to resubmitting the request to assign the account a temporarywaiver.

In some embodiments, receiving a request from a requesting entity toassign an account a temporary waiver further comprises the module beingfurther configured to cause one or more computing processors to log thewaiver request in one or more databases associated with waiver request.

In some embodiments, the account is associated with a customer, andanalyzing the request for approval further comprises the module beingfurther configured to cause or more computing processors to access thecustomer's financial history, and determine the customer is eligible toreceive a temporary waiver based at least partially on an analysis ofthe customer's financial history.

In some embodiments, the waiver request is time-sensitive, and themodule is further configured to cause one or more computer processors toprovisionally reject the request in response to receiving the approvaldecision after a predetermined period of time has elapsed.

In some embodiments, the module is further configured to cause one ormore computer processors to determine one or more terms and conditionsfor usage of the temporary waiver in response to receiving an approvaldecision indicates the temporary waiver request is approved, send theterms and condition to a customer associated with the account, receive,from the customer, consent to agree to the one or more terms andconditions, and assign the account a temporary waiver in response toreceiving the consent to agree to the one or more terms and conditions.

In some embodiments, the approval decision indicates the temporarywaiver request is approved, and the at least one action comprisesassigning the account temporary a waiver, and sending a confirmationmessage to the requesting entity to inform the requesting entity thatthe temporary request was approved.

In some embodiments, the approval decision indicates the temporarywaiver request is approved, and the module is further configured tocause one or more computer processors to create at least one databaserecord comprising related to the approved waiver request, andautomatically update one or more databases with the record, where theone or more databases are associated with waiver request.

In some embodiments, the approval decision indicates the temporarywaiver request is denied, and the at least one action comprises sendinga confirmation message to the requesting entity to inform the requestingentity that the temporary request was denied.

In some embodiments, the approval decision indicates the temporarywaiver request is approved, and the module is further configured tocause one or more computer processors to send one or more automatedmessage to at least one entity associated with the waiver request. Insuch an embodiments, at least one automated message comprises a one-timemessage informing one or more entities of an upcoming expiration datefor the temporary waiver, and at least one automated message comprises adaily message informing one or more entities of that an expiration dateassociated with the temporary waiver has passed and the temporary waiverduration is over.

In some embodiments, the approval decision indicates the temporarywaiver request is approved, the approved temporary waiver has expired,and the module is further configured to cause one or more computingprocessors to request a follow-up response from the requesting entity toindicate whether or not the account should be placed into a paymentstatus. In such an embodiment, where the follow-up response indicatesthe account should be placed back into payment status, and the module isfurther configured to cause one or more computing processors toterminate any automatically generated messages being communicated to oneor more entities associated with the waiver request. In such anembodiments, where the follow-up response indicates the account shouldnot be placed back into payment status, and the module is furtherconfigured to cause one or more computing processors to confirm a newexpiration date to be associated with an extended temporary waiver.

An exemplary method for use in financial systems, whereby the methodprovides steps for automating data communication for purposes ofproviding temporary waivers, may comprise one or more steps, includingreceiving a request from a requesting entity to assign an account atemporary waiver, wherein the account is associated with one or moreservices that require a payment for utilizing the service, and whereinthe temporary waiver temporarily cancels service payments associatedwith utilizing the one or more services; sending the request to aprocessing entity, wherein the processing entity analyzes the requestfor approval; receiving an approval decision based at least partially onthe analysis of the request; and processing at least one action inresponse to receiving the approval decision that indicates whether ornot the request was approved or denied.

In some embodiments, the waiver request is time-sensitive, and themethod further comprises provisionally rejecting the request in responseto receiving the approval decision after a predetermined period of timehas elapsed.

An exemplary computer program product for use in financial systems,whereby the computer program product automates data communication forpurposes of providing temporary waivers, may comprise a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium comprising a set of codes for causing acomputer to receive a request from a requesting entity to assign anaccount a temporary waiver, wherein the account is associated with oneor more services that require a payment for utilizing the service, andwherein the temporary waiver temporarily cancels service paymentsassociated with utilizing the one or more services; send the request toa processing entity, wherein the processing entity analyzes the requestfor approval; receive an approval decision based at least partially onthe analysis of the request; and process at least one action in responseto receiving the approval decision that indicates whether or not therequest was approved or denied.

In some embodiments, where the waiver request is time-sensitive, and thecomputer program product further comprises a set of codes for causing acomputer to provisionally reject the request in response to receivingthe approval decision after a predetermined period of time has elapsed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described embodiments of the invention in general terms,reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, where:

FIG. 1 is a high level process flow for a temporary waiver tool, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a general process flow for atemporary waiver tool, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a screenshot illustrating a temporary waiver tool record log,in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a screenshot illustrating a temporary waiver tool record log,in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a screenshot illustrating a temporary waiver tool record log,in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a screenshot illustrating a one-time reminder message, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a screenshot illustrating a daily reminder message, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a networking environment system, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention now may be described more fullyhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some,but not all, embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, theinvention may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure may satisfy applicablelegal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, methods andcomputer program products for use in financial systems, where datacommunication is automated for the purpose of providing temporarywaivers. The invention enables a system to receive a request to assignan account a temporary waiver and process at least one action inresponse to receiving the approval decision that is an approval decisionbased at least partially on the analysis of the request. As used herein,a “waiver” or “waiver status” may refer to the cancellation or deferralof service payments associated with utilizing a particular accountservice. Alternatively, a “payment status” may refer to the activationor reinstatement of service payments associated with utilizing aparticular account service.

In some embodiments, an “entity” may refer to a business entity that iseither requesting or approving a request to receive an account waiver.For example, in exemplary embodiments, an entity may be a financialinstitution, or one or more parties within the financial institution.For the purposes of this invention, a “financial institution” may bedefined as any organization, entity, or the like in the business ofmoving, investing, or lending money, dealing in financial instruments,or providing financial services. This may include commercial banks,thrifts, federal and state savings banks, savings and loan associations,credit unions, investment companies, insurance companies, and the like.In some embodiments, the entity may allow a customer to establish anaccount with the entity. An “account” may be the relationship that thecustomer has with the entity. Examples of accounts include a depositaccount, such as a transactional account (e.g., a banking account), asavings account, an investment account, a money market account, a timedeposit, a demand deposit, a pre-paid account, a credit account, anon-monetary customer profile that includes only personal informationassociated with the customer, or the like. The account is associatedwith and/or maintained by the entity. In other embodiments, an entitymay not be a financial institution. In still other embodiments, theentity may be the merchant itself.

In some embodiments, the “client” may be a customer (e.g., an accountholder or a person who has an account (e.g., banking account, creditaccount, or the like) at the entity) or potential customer (e.g., aperson who has submitted an application for an account, a person who isthe target of marketing materials that are distributed by the entity, aperson who applies for a loan that not yet been funded). As used herein,the terms “client” and “customer” may be used interchangeably throughoutthe specification.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a high level process flow for providing atemporary waiver tool 100 is illustrated in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention, which will be discussed in furtherdetail throughout this specification. As illustrated, the method maycomprise a plurality of steps, including but not limited to, receiving arequest from a requesting entity to assign an account a temporary waiver110, sending the request to a processing entity to analyze the requestfor approval 120, receiving an approval decision based at leastpartially on the analysis of the request 130, and processing at leastone action in response to receiving the approval decision 140.

As used herein, a “permanent waiver request” or a “permanent waiver” mayrefer to any request or subsequent waiver which is received by abusiness entity and associated with an effective date for associatingthe account with a waiver but does not have an expiration date whichends the month or duration of the waiver. To this extent, accounts mayremain in a permanent waiver status, without any additional action beingrequired by the system, until the requesting entity sends a secondrequest to place the account back into a payment status. For example, apermanent waiver request may state “Please place account XXXXX on waivereffective MM/YY (or effective Month/Year) until further notice”.

As used herein, a “temporary waiver request” or a “temporary waiver” mayrefer to any request or subsequent waiver which is received by abusiness entity and associated with an effective date for associatingthe account with a waiver and also associated with an expiration datewhich ends the month or duration of the waiver. To this extent, accountsare scheduled to be reversed back into a payment status once theduration of the temporary waiver has expired. For example, a permanentwaiver request may state “Please place account XXXXX on waiver effectiveMM1/YY1 (Month 1/Year 1) for 5 months. Hence the account should go backin payment status from MM2/YY2”.

At step 110, the system may first receive a request from a requestingentity to assign an account a temporary waiver. To this extent, theaccount may be further associated with one or more services that requirea payment for utilizing the service. The services may include anyservice that is provided by the business entity responsible formaintaining the related account. For example, the services may include,but not be limited to, management services, wire services, lock boxservices and the like. Likewise, the service payments may include, butnot be limited to wire service payments, Automated Clearing House (ACH)service payments, and the like. As certain business entities, such asfinancial institutions, are known to provide an endless amount ofservices to their customers, in some instances the services associatedwith an account may depend on specific customer criteria or accounttypes. Whereas eligibility for an account waiver may be based oneligibility criterion such as how many units a customer utilizes withthe financial institution or business entity.

In an exemplary embodiment, a customer may be assessed a payment that isdirectly debited on the 15^(th) day of each month from a related depositaccount. The system may then be configured to receive a request towaiver the previously assessed payment for utilizing the service. Insome instances, by assigning accounts temporary waivers as a courtesygesture, business entities may be viewed favorably by their customersand clientele such that the customer may subsequently choose to deepentheir relationship with the business entity in the future and bring inadditional business, for example. In some embodiments, the waiver may beimplemented by deferring the assessment of payments associated withservice usage. However, in other embodiments, the waiver may beimplemented by applying payment credits and/or refunds to the accountthat negate the amount of any previously assessed service payments.

In some embodiments, the waiver request may be received directly fromthe client or customer associated with the account, a third partyindependent of the business entity acting on behalf of the customer, orthe like. However, in exemplary embodiments, and as contemplated herein,waiver request are received from personnel within the business entitythat are responsible for supplying request (e.g. waiver request) oracting on behalf of the customer in other function such as clientmanagers.

In some embodiments, receiving a request to assign an account atemporary waiver may further comprise verifying the received request foraccuracy and completion. Waiver request may include several items ofinformation, including but not limited to, the name of the processingentity, the request number, the account number, a start date for thewaiver, an end date for the waiver, the name of the requesting entity,and contact information of the involved parties. In some embodiments,the system may be configured to automatically provide and/or assigncertain items of information within the waiver request such as theassociated waiver request number, where certain items of information maybe missing within the request. The system may additionally havepre-defined criteria for information that must be explicitly provided bythe requesting entity such as the start date to be associated with thewaiver upon approval and the end date to be associated with the waiverupon approval. As such, the system may be further configured to reviewthe received request to verify that each item of required informationhas been provided. In an instance where one or more items of requiredinformation are determined to be missing from the waiver request, thesystem may then be configured to initially and/or temporarily reject orhalt the waiver request and further prompt the requesting entity providethe missing items of information prior to forwarding and/or sending therequest to the processing entity for approval. The system may be furtherconfigured to review the received request to verify that each item ofrequired information is accurate. For example, the system may verifythat the inputted account number is a valid account associated with thebusiness entity, and/or that the requesting entity is verified personnelwithin the business that possess the authority to submit waiver request.In an instance where one or more items of required information aredetermined to be invalid, the system may then be configured to initiallyand/or temporarily reject or halt the waiver request and further promptthe requesting entity provide valid information prior to forwardingand/or sending the request to the processing entity for approval.

In some embodiments, receiving a request to assign an account atemporary waiver may further comprise logging the waiver request in oneor more associated databases. As shown in FIG. 3 through FIG. 5, thewaiver request database may include several items of information,including but not limited to, the name of the processing entity 301, therequest number 302, the account number 303, a start date for the waiver304, an end date for the waiver 305, follow-up/expiration status(307,309), the name of the requesting entity 306, and contactinformation of the involved parties 308. The request log may be manuallyupdated by personnel associated with the business entity orautomatically updated by the system in response to receiving therequest. In one embodiment, all received request are logged within thedatabase. In other embodiments, only request that receive subsequentapprovals are logged within the database.

At step 120, after receiving the request to assign an account atemporary waiver, the system may then send the request to a processingentity, where the processing entity is an entity responsible forreviewing, analyzing, and approving the received waiver request. In someembodiments, the waiver request may be sent to a third party independentof the business entity and acting on behalf of the business for thepurpose of reviewing and providing an approval decision for the waiverrequest, or the like. However, in exemplary embodiments, and ascontemplated herein, waiver request are sent to personnel within thebusiness entity that are responsible for reviewing request (e.g. waiverrequest) or acting on behalf of the business entity in other functionsuch as pricing managers and portfolio managers. For example, within afinancial institution, if a client manager approaches a process toprovide a waiver request for a period of three (3) months for aparticular client, the waiver request may be routed to a processingentity for subsequent approval, where the processing entity is aliquidated portfolio pricing manager. As such the decision or thediscretion for approval may lie with business personnel such as thepricing manager, the portfolio pricing manager, who may exclusivelydecide to provide the waiver request or to reject the waiver request.

In some embodiments, sending the request to the processing entity forapproval may further comprise the system being configured toautomatically analyze the received request. In an alternate embodiment,the processing entity may be embodied by the system itself or a softwaremodule or application owned and/or operated by the business entity andconfigured to review request (e.g. waiver request) and act on behalf ofthe business entity for the purpose of providing approval decisions inresponse to received waiver request as opposed to an individual withinthe business. As such, the decision or the discretion for approval maylie with business software or application which may be configured toexclusively decide to approve the waiver request or to reject the waiverrequest such that the system may be configured to automatically reviewthe received request and provide an approval decision. To this extentthe system may be configured to automatically execute one or more stepsthat electronically mimic the approval process that may be typicallycarried out manually by an individual within the business entity. Forexample, when providing and/or assigning an account a waiver, anassociated client manager or other processing entity may be required toget in touch with the customer of the business according to variouscompany policies. If it is determined that the customer meets therequired standards or is in good standing with the company policies,then the processing entity may approve the waiver for a certain periodof time. As such, the system may be configured to automatically contactthe customer (or access the customer's account information by othermeans) to receive and/or obtain information that verifies that thecustomer meets the required standards or is in good standing with thecompany policies. For example, in a financial institution, the systemmay access/retrieve and analyze the customers financial history,including transaction history, financial standings, account type(s),account balance(s), and the like to determine one or more trends thatexist within the customer account and/or other information useful forproviding approval decisions in response to waiver request. In anotherexample, the system may automatically generate messages (e.g. emailmessages, multimedia message, text messages, social networking messages,internal messages within online banking or other business entityplatforms, and the like) that may be sent to the customer for thepurpose of requesting the customer provide necessary informationrequired to completely and accurately analyze the request to provide anaccount waiver.

In some embodiments, automatically analyzing the received request mayfurther comprise comparing the waiver request, related accountinformation, and/or retrieved customer information to predeterminedapproval criterion. The approval criterion may be predefined by thebusiness entity, general business industry standards, an associatedthird party, or the like. In one embodiment, the request may beautomatically denied in response to determining the customer does notmeet the predetermine approval criterion. In another threshold, thecustomer may be required to satisfy a minimal number of approvalcriteria in order to receive an approval decision. For example, if thebusiness standard defines ten (10) parameters for approval, a customermay be only required to satisfy at least six of the parameters in orderto receive subsequent approval for a waiver request.

At step 130, after sending the request to a processing entity forapproval, the system may then receive an approval decision based atleast partially on the analysis of the request by the processing entity.In some embodiments, an automated received approval request may be sentto an individual within the business, such as a portfolio manager, toverify it's accuracy, where the business personnel may further reversethe approval decision such that the system is configured to reverse anautomated approval decision in response to receiving a request frombusiness personnel to reverse the automated approval decision. One ormore actions may be processed in response to receiving an approvedwaiver request decision, including but not limited to, assigning anaccount a waiver status, sending confirmation of the approved waiverrequest to the requesting entity, updating one or more associated waiverdatabases, and the like. One or more actions may be processed inresponse to receiving a denied waiver request decision, including butnot limited to, sending confirmation of the denied waiver request to therequesting entity, taking no additional actions with the account, andthe like.

In some embodiments, waiver request may be time sensitive such that ifan approval decision is not received in a timely fashion the system maybe configured to provisionally reject the request regardless of thereceived approval decision. This feature may be utilized to ensure thataccurate and up-to-date information is used in approving the waiverrequest. In an instance where the waiver approval decision is notreceived in a timely fashion the system may be configured to resend thewaiver request for review and approval prior to accepting the approvaldecision. For example, if a waiver request is submitted in January andcomprises information relative to the customer's account status duringthe month of January, and an approved wavier decision is not receiveduntil March where the customer's account status has changed within thelapse of time, the system may then resend the waiver request such thatit is subsequently reviewed and either approved or denied based on thestatus of the customer's account during the month of March. To thisextent, the system may resend any request for which the approvaldecision is not received within a predetermined period of time.

In some embodiments, receiving an approval decision, where the approvaldecision states that the waiver request has been approved, may furthercomprise receiving and/or determining one or more conditions forapproval and usage of the waiver request. For example, the conditions ofapproval may state that customer must remain within their currentaccount standings during the duration of the temporary waiver in orderfor the waiver to remain valid. As such in a instance where the systemdetermines that a previously approved account is no longer in goodstanding the waiver may be revoked before the duration of the temporarywaiver has expired. To this extent, the system may be further configuredto send the term and conditions of approval to the customer, andsubsequently receive consent, from the customer, of the terms andconditions prior to taking additional actions such as assigning thetemporary waiver to the related account. In an instance where it isdetermined that the customer has failed to consent to the terms andconditions of the temporary waiver approval, the system may proceed totake no action on the customer account regardless or receiving anapproved waiver request decision.

At step 140, after receiving an approval decision based at leastpartially on the analysis of the request by the processing entity, thesystem may then process one or more actions in response to receiving theapproval decision, as previously discussed herein. The process may firstcomprise receiving an reviewing a request from a first entity to placean account on temporary waiver 201, and sending a message to a secondentity for approval of the request 202, prior to processing one or moreactions in response to receiving the approval decision

As shown in FIG. 2, a first action processed in response to receiving anapproval decision 203 stating the waiver request has been denied maycomprise sending a confirmation message to the requesting entityinforming them of the denied waiver request and that no additionalaction has been taken within the account 205. The process for requestinga waiver may then be subsequently terminated.

A first action processed in response to receiving an approval decision203 stating the waiver request has been approved may comprise assigningthe account a waiver. In some embodiments, assigning an account a waiver204 for service payments may comprise deferring the scheduled assessmentof payments associated with service usage and/or suspending thescheduled assessment of payments associated with service usage. Forexample, if a customer is approved for a three (3) month temporarywaiver, the system may be configured to suspend the customers scheduledpayment assessments for a period of three (3) months. However, in otherembodiments, the waiver may be implemented by applying payment creditsand/or refunds to the account that negate the amount of any previouslyassessed service payments. For example, if a customer is approved for athree (3) month temporary waiver, the system may be configured to applya credit to the customer's account that is equivalent in amount to thecost of three (3) months of service payments.

A second action processed in response to receiving an approval decision203 stating the waiver request has been approved may comprise sending aconfirmation message to the requesting entity 206 informing them of theapproved waiver request. In some embodiments, the system may beconfigured to automatically generate confirmation messages (e.g. emailmessages, multimedia message, text messages, social networking messages,internal messages within online banking or other business entityplatforms, and the like) in response to assigning an account a temporarywaiver that may be sent to the customer and comprise details of theapproved waiver request. For example, if a customer is approved for atemporary waiver, the system may be configured to send the requestingentity a confirmation message that comprises the start date associatedwith the waiver and the end date associated with the waiver as well asthe related account number, and waiver request number for reference.

A third action processed in response to receiving an approval decision203 stating the waiver request has been approved may comprise manuallyand/or automatically updating one or more databases 207 associated withthe waiver with information related to the approved waiver request. Insome embodiments, the processing entity manually updates a temporarywaiver database, waiver database, or general business database with theexpiration date of the approved temporary waiver. For example, as shownin FIG. 3, if a customer associated with account number XXXXX isapproved for a temporary waiver that is scheduled to expire on MonthDay, Year, the system may be configured to update one or more databaserecord(s) that corresponds to the current waiver request related toaccount number XXXXX with an expiration date of MM/DD/YYYY. In analternative embodiment, the system may be configured to automaticallyupdate the temporary waiver database, waiver database, or generalbusiness database with the expiration date of the approved temporarywaiver.

A fourth action processed in response to receiving an approval decision203 stating the waiver request has been approved may comprise sendingone or more automated messages 208 to the first entity (e.g. informingentity of expiration, requesting follow up, and the like). In someembodiments, as shown in FIG. 6, the system may be configured toautomatically send a message (e.g. email messages, multimedia message,text messages, social networking messages, internal messages withinonline banking or other business entity platforms, and the like)informing one or more entities of the upcoming waiver expiration (e.g.processing entity, requesting entity, customer, and the like). Forexample, if a customer associated with account number XXXXX is approvedfor a temporary waiver that is scheduled to expire on Month Day, Year,the system may be configured to send the processing entity an emailinforming the processing entity that the temporary waiver is scheduledto expire and requesting the processing entity to similarly inform therequesting entity of the expiration. As such the one-time message maycomprise information such as the account number, expiration date,request number, requesting entity name, and a request to take additionalaction. The one-time message may be sent a predetermined period of timeprior to the expiration of the waiver based on the business policies.

In other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 7, the system may be configuredto automatically send a daily message (e.g. email messages, multimediamessage, text messages, social networking messages, internal messageswithin online banking or other business entity platforms, and the like)informing one or more entities that an expiration date has passed andthe waiver duration is over (e.g. processing entity, requesting entity,customer, and the like). For example, if a customer associated withaccount number YYYYY is approved for a temporary waiver that isscheduled to expire on Month Day, Year, the system may be configured tosend the processing entity an email on each day past Month Day, Year,informing the processing entity that the temporary waiver is over andrequesting the processing entity to follow-up with the requesting entityof the expiration for the purpose of taking additional action. As suchthe daily message may comprise information such as the account number,expiration date, request number, requesting entity name, and a requestto take additional action. The daily message may be sent a predeterminednumber of times after the expiration of the waiver passes based on thebusiness policies.

In some embodiments, sending an automated message requires the systemrunning a macro that initiates the automated transfer of a message. Thesystem may then be configured to export information from one or moredatabases associated with waiver request that have been either manuallyupdated by business personnel and/or automatically updated by the systemfor each waiver request. In some embodiments, the message is sent oneach occasion that an associated import files is accessed until therelated issue (e.g. an outstanding waiver expiration) has been address.

A fifth action processed in response to receiving an approval decision203 stating the waiver request has been approved may comprise receivinga follow-up response 209 from the requesting entity to process one ormore secondary actions, or that result in processing one or moresecondary actions based at least partially on the response. Referringback to FIG. 2, this may comprise the system being configured to requesta decision as to whether or not the account should be placed back into apayment status 209 after the expiration of the waiver has passed. Forexample, one or more secondary actions may be processed in response toreceiving a follow-up response stating “No” the account should be placedback into payment status, including but not limited to, confirmation ofa new expiration date 210, updating one or more associated waiverdatabases 211, reconfirming customer eligibility, and the like.Likewise, one or more secondary actions may be processed in response toreceiving a follow-up response stating “Yes” the account should beplaced back into payment status, including but not limited to, updatingone or more associated waiver databases 213, taking no additionalactions with the account, terminating the generation of automatedmessages 214, and the like. A secondary response of “Yes” may result inthe related account being place back into a payment status, and asecondary response of “No” may result in the related account remainingin a waiver status for an additional period of time.

The fifth action may further comprise the system being configured tosend a message to the requesting entity asking for a follow-up responsewhich grants consent to place an account back into payment status. Thesystem may then wait for a response from the requesting entity prior totaking any additional actions. In response to receiving a follow-upresponse 209 the system may then determine whether or not to place theaccount back into payment status based at least partially on thereceived follow-up response. In some embodiments, one the system and/orassociated business personnel take action on the related account anotification is updated within the “Addressed?” column 307 to indicatethe issue (e.g. an outstanding waiver expiration) has been addressed.For example, a selection and/or automatic update of “Yes” within the“addressed” column may result in additional actions such as restrictinga Macro from sending automated expiration message from thereon to one ormore entities associated with the related account number.

A secondary action processed in response to receiving a follow-upresponse stating “Yes” the account should be placed back into paymentstatus 209 may comprise automatically updating one or more databases 213associated with the waiver with information related to the approvedwaiver request. In some embodiments, the system may be configured toautomatically update a temporary waiver database, waiver database, orgeneral business database with a notification that indicates “yes”subsequent action has been taken on the account as previously requested.For example, if a requesting entity provides a secondary approval toplace an account back into payment status, the system may then updatethe database to indicate “Yes” under an associated “Addressed?” column307 for the related account record. Receiving the follow-up decision mayfurther comprise taking action to place the account back into paymentstatus which may comprise disassociating an account with a waiver forservice payments by rescheduling the assessment of payments associatedwith service usage and/or reinstating the scheduled assessment ofpayments associated with service usage, removing payment credits and/orrefunds to the account, and the like.

A secondary action processed in response to receiving a follow-upresponse stating “Yes” the account should be placed back into paymentstatus may comprise terminating any automatically generated messages 214being currently communicated to one or more entities such as dailymessages informing the one or more entities that an expiration date haspassed and the waiver duration is over and requesting an additionalaction to be taken. In response to manually selecting and/orautomatically updating the database with a notification indicating theissue (e.g. an outstanding waiver) has been addressed, the system may beconfigured to simultaneously terminate the automated transmission ofmessages to the one or more entities in response to the updatednotification within the corresponding database record. The process forrequesting a waiver may then be subsequently terminated.

A secondary action processed in response to receiving a follow-upresponse stating “No” the account should not be placed back into paymentstatus may comprise confirming a new expiration date 210 to beassociated with the extension of the waiver request. In someembodiments, the system may be configured to automatically determine thenew expiration date based at least partially on one or more businesspolicies, and in other embodiments, the system may be configured toreceive the new expiration date from the requesting entity along withthe follow-up response, and/or a follow-up request to extend the waiverperiod for an additional duration of time after the initial expirationperiod has ended. For example, if a requesting entity provides afollow-up response stating “No” the account should not be placed backinto payment status, the system may then receive and/determine andconfirm a new expiration date to be associated with the extended waiverfor the related account record.

A second secondary action processed in response to receiving a follow-upresponse stating “No” the account should not be placed back into paymentstatus may comprise automatically updating one or more new databaserecords 211 associated with the waiver with information related to theapproved waiver request. In some embodiments, the system may beconfigured to automatically update a temporary waiver database, waiverdatabase, or general business database with the new expiration date ofthe approved temporary waiver. This may additionally require creating anew record within the database for the extended waiver request. Forexample, if a customer associated with account number XXXXX is toreceive an extension for a temporary waiver that is scheduled to expireon Month Day, Year, the system may be configured to update one or morenew database record(s) that corresponds to the current waiver requestrelated to account number XXXXX with an expiration date of MM/DD/YYYY.

A third secondary action processed in response to receiving a follow-upresponse stating “No” the account should not be placed back into paymentstatus may comprise automatically updating one or more old databaserecords 212 associated with the waiver with information related to theapproved waiver request. In some embodiments, the system may beconfigured to automatically update a temporary waiver database, waiverdatabase, or general business database with the new expiration date ofthe approved temporary waiver. For example, if a customer associatedwith account number XXXXX is to receive an extension for a temporarywaiver that is scheduled to expire on Month Day, Year, the system may beconfigured to update the old database record to indicate “Yes” under anassociated “Addressed?” column for the related account record, which mayresult in the subsequent termination of the automated transmission ofmessages to the one or more entities in response to the updatednotification within the corresponding database record. The process forrequesting a waiver may then be subsequently terminated.

Referring to FIG. 8, a network environment 800 is illustrated inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. As illustrated inFIG. 8, the processing entity computing device 402 is operativelycoupled via a network 401 to the requesting entity computing device 404and/or a remote server 406. In this configuration, the processing entitycomputing device 402 may send information to and receive informationfrom the requesting entity computing device 404 and/or the remote server406. Additionally, the requesting entity computing device 404 may sendand receive communications directly from the remote server 406. Theprocessing entity computing device 402 may be or include one or morenetwork base stations or other network components. FIG. 8 illustratesonly one example of an embodiment of a network environment 800, and itwill be appreciated that in other embodiments one or more of thesystems, devices, or servers may be combined into a single system,device, or server, or be made up of multiple systems, devices, orserver.

The network 401 may be a global area network (GAN), such as theInternet, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), atelecommunication network or any other type of network or combination ofnetworks. The network 401 may provide for wire line, wireless, or acombination wire line and wireless communication between devices on thenetwork 401.

In some embodiments, the requesting entity 405 is personnel within thebusiness entity that are responsible for supplying request (e.g. waiverrequest) or acting on behalf of the customer in other function such asclient managers. In some embodiments, the processing entity 403 ispersonnel within the business entity that are responsible for reviewingrequest (e.g. waiver request) or acting on behalf of the business entityin other function such as pricing managers and portfolio managers.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the processing entity computing device 402generally comprises a communication device 450, a processing device 452,and a memory device 454. As used herein, the term “processing device”generally includes circuitry used for implementing the communicationand/or logic functions of the particular system. For example, aprocessing device may include a digital signal processor device, amicroprocessor device, and various analog-to-digital converters,digital-to-analog converters, and other support circuits and/orcombination of the foregoing. Control and signal processing functions ofthe system are allocated between these processing devices according totheir respective capabilities. The processing device may includefunctionality to operate one or more software programs based on computerreadable instructions thereof, which may be stored in a memory device.

The processing device 452 is operatively coupled to the communicationdevice 450 to communicate with the network 401 and other devices on thenetwork 401. As such, the communication device 450 generally comprises amodem, server, or other device for communicating with other devices onthe network 401.

As further illustrated in FIG. 8, the network processing entitycomputing device 402 comprises computer readable instructions 458 of anapplication 460. In some embodiments, the memory device, 454 includesdata storage 456 for storing data related to and/or used by theapplication 460. The application 460 may perform one or more of thesteps and/or sub-steps discussed herein and/or one or more steps notdiscussed herein. For example, in some embodiments, the application 460may provide detailed information about one or more items of interest tothe requesting entity computing device 404.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the requesting entity computing device 404generally comprises a communication device 430, a processing device 432,a memory device 434, and a data storage device 436. The processingdevice 432 is operatively coupled to the communication device 430 andthe memory device 434. In some embodiments, the processing device 432may send or receive data from the requesting entity computing device404, to the processing entity computing device 402 via the communicationdevice 430 over a network 401. As such, the communication device 430generally comprises a modem, server, or other device for communicatingwith other devices on the network 401.

As further illustrated in FIG. 8, the requesting entity computing device404 comprises computer readable instructions 438 stored in the memorydevice 434, which in one embodiment includes the computer-readableinstructions 438 of an application 440. In the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 4, the application 440 allows the requesting entity computingdevice 404 to be linked to the processing entity computing device 402 tocommunicate, via a network 401. The application 440 may also allow therequesting entity computing device 404 to connect directly (i.e. locallyor device to device) with the remote server 406 for sending andreceiving information. The application 440 may perform one or more ofthe steps and/or sub-steps discussed herein and/or one or more steps notdiscussed herein. For example, in some embodiments, the application 440may send information for a waiver request.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the remote server 406 may include acommunication device 410, a processing device 412, a memory device 414,and a data storage device 416. The processing device 412 is operativelycoupled to the communication device 410 and the memory device 414. Insome embodiments, the processing device 412 may send or receive datafrom the requesting entity computing device 404 and/or the processingentity computing device 402 via the communication device 410. Suchcommunication may be performed either over a direct connection and/orover a network 401. As such, the communication device 410 generallycomprises a modem, server, or other device for communication with otherdevices on the network 401.

As further illustrated in FIG. 8, the remote server 406 comprisescomputer-readable instructions 418 of an application 420. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the application 420 allows thedatabase 406 to be linked to the processing entity computing device 402to communicate, via a network 401. The application 420 may also allowthe requesting entity computing device 404 to connect directly (i.e.,locally or device to device) with the remote server 406 or indirectlythrough the network 401. The application 420 may perform one or more ofthe steps and/or sub-steps discussed herein and/or one or more steps notdiscussed herein.

Any of the features described herein with respect to a particularprocess flow are also applicable to any other process flow. Inaccordance with embodiments of the invention, the term “module” withrespect to a system may refer to a hardware component of the system, asoftware component of the system, or a component of the system thatincludes both hardware and software. As used herein, a module mayinclude one or more modules, where each module may reside in separatepieces of hardware or software.

Although many embodiments of the present invention have just beendescribed above, the present invention may be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments setforth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Also, it will beunderstood that, where possible, any of the advantages, features,functions, devices, and/or operational aspects of any of the embodimentsof the present invention described and/or contemplated herein may beincluded in any of the other embodiments of the present inventiondescribed and/or contemplated herein, and/or vice versa. In addition,where possible, any terms expressed in the singular form herein aremeant to also include the plural form and/or vice versa, unlessexplicitly stated otherwise. Accordingly, the terms “a” and/or “an”shall mean “one or more,” even though the phrase “one or more” is alsoused herein. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art in view ofthis disclosure, the present invention may include and/or be embodied asan apparatus (including, for example, a system, machine, device,computer program product, and/or the like), as a method (including, forexample, a business method, computer-implemented process, and/or thelike), or as any combination of the foregoing. Accordingly, embodimentsof the present invention may take the form of an entirely businessmethod embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware,resident software, micro-code, stored procedures in a database, or thelike), an entirely hardware embodiment, or an embodiment combiningbusiness method, software, and hardware aspects that may generally bereferred to herein as a “system.” Furthermore, embodiments of thepresent invention may take the form of a computer program product thatincludes a computer-readable storage medium having one or morecomputer-executable program code portions stored therein. As usedherein, a processor, which may include one or more processors, may be“configured to” perform a certain function in a variety of ways,including, for example, by having one or more general-purpose circuitsperform the function by executing one or more computer-executableprogram code portions embodied in a computer-readable medium, and/or byhaving one or more application-specific circuits perform the function.

It will be understood that any suitable computer-readable medium may beutilized. The computer-readable medium may include, but is not limitedto, a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a tangibleelectronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, and/orsemiconductor system, device, and/or other apparatus. For example, insome embodiments, the non-transitory computer-readable medium includes atangible medium such as a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a compact discread-only memory (CD-ROM), and/or some other tangible optical and/ormagnetic storage device. In other embodiments of the present invention,however, the computer-readable medium may be transitory, such as, forexample, a propagation signal including computer-executable program codeportions embodied therein.

One or more computer-executable program code portions for carrying outoperations of the present invention may include object-oriented,scripted, and/or unscripted programming languages, such as, for example,Java, Perl, Smalltalk, C++, SAS, SQL, Python, Objective C, JavaScript,and/or the like. In some embodiments, the one or morecomputer-executable program code portions for carrying out operations ofembodiments of the present invention are written in conventionalprocedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming languagesand/or similar programming languages. The computer program code mayalternatively or additionally be written in one or more multi-paradigmprogramming languages, such as, for example, F#.

Some embodiments of the present invention are described herein withreference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of apparatusand/or methods. It will be understood that each block included in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and/or combinations ofblocks included in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams,may be implemented by one or more computer-executable program codeportions. These one or more computer-executable program code portionsmay be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, and/or some other programmable data processingapparatus in order to produce a particular machine, such that the one ormore computer-executable program code portions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer and/or other programmable data processingapparatus, create mechanisms for implementing the steps and/or functionsrepresented by the flowchart(s) and/or block diagram block(s).

The one or more computer-executable program code portions may be storedin a transitory and/or non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., amemory or the like) that can direct, instruct, and/or cause a computerand/or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in aparticular manner, such that the computer-executable program codeportions stored in the computer-readable medium produce an article ofmanufacture including instruction mechanisms which implement the stepsand/or functions specified in the flowchart(s) and/or block diagramblock(s).

The one or more computer-executable program code portions may also beloaded onto a computer and/or other programmable data processingapparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on thecomputer and/or other programmable apparatus. In some embodiments, thisproduces a computer-implemented process such that the one or morecomputer-executable program code portions which execute on the computerand/or other programmable apparatus provide operational steps toimplement the steps specified in the flowchart(s) and/or the functionsspecified in the block diagram block(s). Alternatively,computer-implemented steps may be combined with, and/or replaced with,operator- and/or human-implemented steps in order to carry out anembodiment of the present invention.

While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in theaccompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments aremerely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, andthat this invention not be limited to the specific constructions andarrangements shown and described, since various other changes,combinations, omissions, modifications and substitutions, in addition tothose set forth in the above paragraphs, are possible. Those skilled inthe art will appreciate that various adaptations, modifications, andcombinations of the just described embodiments can be configured withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it isto be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, theinvention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for automating data communicationfor purposes of providing temporary waivers in a financial institution,the apparatus comprising: a memory; one or more computing processors;and a module stored in the memory, said module comprising instructioncode executable by the one or more computing processors, and configuredto: cause the one or more computing processors to receive a request froma requesting entity to assign an account a temporary waiver, wherein theaccount is associated with one or more services that require a paymentfor utilizing the service, and wherein the temporary waiver temporarilycancels service payments associated with utilizing the one or moreservices; cause the one or more computing processors to generate a datarecord associated with the request; cause the one or more computingprocessors to automatically update a record log within a waiver requestdatabase using the data record associated with the request; cause theone or more computing processors to review the request to verify that afirst item of required information has been provided; cause the one ormore computing processors to temporarily reject the request in responseto determining that the first item of required information has not beenprovided; cause the one or more computing processors to prompt therequesting entity to provide the first item of required informationprior to resubmitting the request to assign the account the temporarywaiver; cause the one or more computing processors to analyze therequest according to at least one predetermined approval criterion;cause the one or more computing processors to generate an approvaldecision based at least partially on analyzing the request according tothe at least one predetermined approval criterion; cause the one or morecomputing processors to process an action based on the approval decisionthat indicates whether or not the request was approved or denied; causethe one or more computing processors to determine that the approvaldecision indicates that the request was approved; cause the one or morecomputing processors to assign the temporary waiver to the account, thetemporary waiver having a fixed duration; cause the one or morecomputing processors to automatically update a waiver database bygenerating a data record associated with the temporary waiver; cause theone or more computing processors to determine that the duration of thetemporary waiver has elapsed; cause the one or more computing processorsto run a macro, wherein the macro is configured to, in response todetermining that the temporary waiver has elapsed, to send an automatedexpiration message to at least one entity associated with the request;cause the one or more computing processors to receive a follow-upresponse to the automated expiration message; cause the one or morecomputing processors to, in response to receiving the follow-upresponse, restrict the macro from sending future expiration messages;cause the one or more computing processors to automatically update astatus of the account to reflect removal of the temporary waiver; andcause the one or more computing processors to automatically update thewaiver database by generating a data record associated with the removalof the temporary waiver.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein therequest comprises a second item of required information, and wherein themodule is further configured to cause the one or more computingprocessors to: review the request to verify that the second item ofrequired information is valid; temporarily reject the request inresponse to determining the second item of required information is notvalid; and prompt the requesting entity to provide valid information forthe second item of required information prior to resubmitting therequest to assign the account a temporary waiver.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the account is associated with a customer, and whereinanalyzing the request for approval further comprises the module beingfurther configured to cause the one or more computing processors to:access the customer's financial history; and determine the customer iseligible to receive the temporary waiver based at least partially on ananalysis of the customer's financial history.
 4. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the module is further configured to cause the one or morecomputer processors to: temporarily revoke the temporary waiver from theaccount; determine one or more terms and conditions for usage of thetemporary waiver; send the one or more terms and conditions to acustomer associated with the account; receive, from the customer,consent to agree to the one or more terms and conditions; and reassignthe temporary waiver to the account in response to receiving the consentto agree to the one or more terms and conditions.
 5. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the module is further configured to cause the one ormore computer processors to: send a confirmation message to therequesting entity to inform the requesting entity that the request wasapproved.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the module is furtherconfigured to cause the one or more computer processors to send one ormore automated messages to at least one entity associated with therequest.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein a first automated messagecomprises a one-time message informing one or more entities of anupcoming expiration date for the temporary waiver.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 6, wherein a second automated message comprises a daily messageinforming one or more entities that an expiration date associated withthe temporary waiver has passed and the temporary waiver duration isover.
 9. A computerized method for use in financial systems, whereby themethod provides steps for automating data communication for purposes ofproviding temporary waivers, the method comprising: receiving, via oneor more computer processors, a request from a requesting entity toassign an account a temporary waiver, wherein the account is associatedwith one or more services that require a payment for utilizing theservice, and wherein the temporary waiver temporarily cancels servicepayments associated with utilizing the one or more services; generating,via the one or more computer processors, a data record associated withthe request; automatically updating, via the one or more computerprocessors, a record log within a waiver request database using the datarecord associated with the request; reviewing, via the one or morecomputer processors, the request to verify that a first item of requiredinformation have been provided; temporarily rejecting, via the one ormore computer processors, the request in response to determining thatthe first item of required information has not been provided; prompting,via the one or more computer processors, the requesting entity toprovide the first item of required information prior to resubmitting therequest to assign the account a temporary waiver; analyzing, via the oneor more computer processors, the request according to at least onepredetermined approval criterion; generating, via the one or morecomputer processors, an approval decision based at least partially onanalyzing the request according to the at least one predeterminedapproval criterion; processing, via the one or more computer processors,an action based on the approval decision that indicates whether or notthe request was approved or denied; determining, via the one or morecomputer processors, that the approval decision indicates that therequest was approved; assigning, via the one or more computerprocessors, the temporary waiver to the account, the temporary waiverhaving a fixed duration; automatically updating, via the one or morecomputer processors, a waiver database by generating a data recordassociated with the temporary waiver; determining, via the one or morecomputer processors, that the duration of the temporary waiver haselapsed; running, via the one or more computer processors, a macro,wherein the macro is configured to, in response to determining that thetemporary waiver has elapsed, to send an automated expiration message toat least one entity associated with the request; receiving, via the oneor more computer processors, a follow-up response to the automatedexpiration message; in response to receiving the follow-up response,restricting, via the one or more computer processors, the macro fromsending future expiration messages; automatically updating, via the oneor more computer processors, a status of the account to reflect removalof the temporary waiver; and automatically updating, via the one or morecomputer processors, the waiver database by generating a data recordassociated with the removal of the temporary waiver.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the method further comprises sending one or moreautomated messages to at least one entity associated with the request.11. The method of claim 10, wherein a first automated message comprisesa one-time message informing one or more entities of an upcomingexpiration date for the temporary waiver.
 12. The method of claim 10,wherein a second automated message comprises a daily message informingone or more entities that an expiration date associated with thetemporary waiver has passed and the temporary waiver duration is over.13. The method of claim 9, the method further comprising: temporarilyrevoking the temporary waiver from the account; determining one or moreterms and conditions for usage of the temporary waiver; sending the oneor more terms and conditions to a customer associated with the account;receiving, from the customer, consent to agree to the one or more termsand conditions; and reassigning the temporary waiver to the account inresponse to receiving the consent to agree to the one or more terms andconditions.
 14. The method of claim 9, the method further comprisingsending a confirmation message to the requesting entity to inform therequesting entity that the request was approved.
 15. A computer programproduct for use in financial systems, whereby the computer programproduct automates data communication for purposes of providing temporarywaivers, the computer program product comprising: a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium comprising a set of codes for: causing one ormore computing processors to receive a request from a requesting entityto assign an account a temporary waiver, wherein the account isassociated with one or more services that require a payment forutilizing the service, and wherein the temporary waiver temporarilycancels service payments associated with utilizing the one or moreservices; causing the one or more computing processors to generate adata record associated with the request; causing the one or morecomputing processors to automatically update a record log within awaiver request database using the data record associated with therequest; causing the one or more computing processors to review therequest to verify that a first item of required information has beenprovided; causing the one or more computing processors to temporarilyreject the request in response to determining that the first item ofrequired information has not been provided; causing the one or morecomputing processors to prompt the requesting entity to provide thefirst item of required information prior to resubmitting the request toassign the account the temporary waiver; causing the one or morecomputing processors to analyze the request according to at least onepredetermined approval criterion; causing the one or more computingprocessors to generate an approval decision based at least partially onanalyzing the request according to the at least one predeterminedapproval criterion; causing the one or more computing processors toprocess an action based on the approval decision that indicates whetheror not the request was approved or denied; causing the one or morecomputing processors to determine that the approval decision indicatesthat the request was approved; causing the one or more computingprocessors to assign the temporary waiver to the account, the temporarywaiver having a fixed duration; causing the one or more computingprocessors to automatically update a waiver database by generating adata record associated with the temporary waiver; causing the one ormore computing processors to determine that the duration of thetemporary waiver has elapsed; causing the one or more computingprocessors to run a macro, wherein the macro is configured to, inresponse to determining that the temporary waiver has elapsed, to sendan automated expiration message to at least one entity associated withthe request; causing the one or more computing processors to receive afollow-up response to the automated expiration message; causing the oneor more computing processors to, in response to receiving the follow-upresponse, restrict the macro from sending future expiration messages;causing the one or more computing processors to automatically update astatus of the account to reflect removal of the temporary waiver; andcausing the one or more computing processors to automatically update thewaiver database by generating a data record associated with the removalof the temporary waiver.
 16. The computer program product of claim 15,wherein the computer program product further comprises a set of codesfor causing the one or more computer processors to send one or moreautomated messages to at least one entity associated with the request.17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein a first automatedmessage comprises a one-time message informing one or more entities ofan upcoming expiration date for the temporary waiver.
 18. The computerprogram product of claim 16, wherein a second automated messagecomprises a daily message informing one or more entities that anexpiration date associated with the temporary waiver has passed and thetemporary waiver duration is over.
 19. The computer program product ofclaim 15, wherein the computer program product further comprises a setof codes for causing the one or more computer processors to: temporarilyrevoke the temporary waiver from the account; determine one or moreterms and conditions for usage of the temporary waiver; send the one ormore terms and conditions to a customer associated with the account;receive, from the customer, consent to agree to the one or more termsand conditions; and reassign the temporary waiver to the account inresponse to receiving the consent to agree to the one or more terms andconditions.
 20. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein thecomputer program product further comprises a set of codes for causingthe one or more computer processors to send a confirmation message tothe requesting entity to inform the requesting entity that the requestwas approved.